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Rohingya Activists in Japan Held Meeting With Foreign Ministry Officials

RB News

April 13, 2016

The Japanese Foreign Minister H.E. Fumio Kishida is planning to visit to Myanmar soon where he will meet the President Htin Kyaw and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Learning of this Rohingya activists in Japan visited the Foreign Ministry's high ranking officials at the Upper House Building on April 12th from 2pm to 3:30pm.

The Rohingya activists led by Zaw Min Htut were joined by Lawyer Shogo Watanabe, a Myanmar expert and journalist Hisao Tanabe (a.k.a) U Shwe Ba. Both men had visited Myanmar in February where they met National League for Democracy Patron U Tin Oo, Lawyer U Ko Ni as well as Rohingya Party leader U Kyaw Min in Yangon, Human Rights Watch (HRW) Director Ms Kanei Doi and Japan Upper House Parliament member and leader of Social Democratic Party, Ms Mizuho Fukushima.

At the meeting Zaw Min Htut welcomed the new government led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi while he also raised some serious concern on the appointments of ex-military generals as the head of ministries which are directly related to the Rohingya issues. He appreciated Japanese government actively participation and support to Rohingya issue at the U.N. Human Rights Council in March. He elaborated on the current situation of Rohingya, IDPs' suffering, ethnic rights, citizenship rights and political rights as well as the need for an amendment repealing of 1982 citizenship law which rejects Rohingya as citizens of Myanmar.

HRW Director Kanei Doi expressed HRW’s serious concern on human rights violation on Rohingyas. Lawyer Watanabe and U Shwe Ba spoke on their meeting with Rohingya leaders as well as NLD officials in Yangon. The meeting was closed with the remarks of MP Fukushima and an appeal from Zaw Min Htut and Farhad, a recent graduate from a prestigious Japanese University, who presented an appeal letter and other relevant documents to the Foreign Minister of Japan.